Grain-drier



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. G. BATES.

GRAIN DRIER.

(No Model.)

Patented Mar. 8, 1887.

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(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2. J. G. BATES.

GRAIN DRIER.

Patented Mar. 8, 1887.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Oriana,

JOSEPH G. BATES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

GRAIN- DRIER.

SPECIPICA'I'ION forming part of Letters Patent No. 358,830, dated March 8, 1887.

Application filed January 18, 1886. Serial No. 188,902. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J osnrn O. Barns, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have inventeda new and useful Improvement in Grain-Driers, of which the following is a specification.

Heretofore it has been found impossible to expose and dry grain and other like material in large bodies or on any extended scale at any one time without discoloring or inj uring it.

My invention provides an easy, automatic, practical, and economical apparatus for drying it in any quantity desired, and as it permits the drying to be done at low temperatures it avoids all danger of injury to the grain or its products. The apparatus may be placed inside an elevator-building, or be attached to the side thereof, or be placed at a distance therefrom, as preferred; and it requires but little floor-space.

The invention consists in a drying-chamber having means for suspending the grain in a sheet, a blast apparatus, and air-inlets to said chamber provided with moisture absorbing material and adapted to dry the air before its contact with the grain.

The invention further consists in the combination, with the drying-chamber of a grain or similar drier, of air-inlet passages filled with sponge or other like moisture'absorbing material, through which the air admitted to the chamber must filter, and by which it is deprived of much of its moisture.

The invention further consists in the combination, with the drying-chamber of a drier, of air-inlet passages leading to said chamber, formed of or lined with tile or brick, whereby the air is dried before contact with the material to be dried.

In the next place the invention consists in the combination, with the heating and drying chambers of a drier, of air-passages conducting the air from the formerto the latter, formed of or walled with tile or brick, whereby the air is both heated and dried previous to its entrance to the drying-chamber.

The invention further consists in the novel features of construction and combinations of parts, hereinafter fully set forth and claimed.

In the drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which similar letters of reference indicate like parts, Figure l is a side elevation of my improved drier, and Fig. 2 a vertical section thereof on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section of the heating-chamber and the air-passages to the same and between it and the drying-chamber. Fig. at is a partial section of one of the grainholding screens. Fig. 5 is a detail showing the manner of holding the sponge filter.

In the drawings I have showna double drier, but do not wish, of course, to be limited in that regard, as it will be obvious from perusing my description thateitherhalf of the apparatus may be used without the other.

My drier may properly be divided into two parts, one containing the heating-chamber and the devices for drying the air previous to its contact with the grain, and the other the drying-chamber proper. The latter of these is lettered A, and is a vertical chamber containing two screens, 13 B, placed parallel to each other at a short distance apart, and preferably inclined slightly. The grain is fed into the 7 space 1) between the screens from the hopper O, and is discharged from said space at the bottom into the chute D. The outer side of chamber A is provided with a number of suction-fans, E E, placed so as to divide the area of the side into equal portions, and these fans draw the air from chamber A through the grain by means of the conduits 6, opening from chamber A. The suction through the grain is rendered nearly equal at all points by the use of a number of fans and conduits, as shown. The air thus drawn through the grain is admit-ted at the bottom of chamber A, and may first be compelled to pass through the heatingchamber F, and also through moisture-absorbing passages, as more explicitly described be low.

An elevator, G, is preferably employed to carry the grain to the hopper C, and if the grain should not be sufficiently dried after one treatment it may be elevated a second time and again passed through the drier, as this elevator is connected to the discharge-chute .D by means of the lateral branch d of the latter. This lateral branch also conducts the grain,when it has been sufficiently treated, to the chute H, by which it is carried to the bin or car.

I prefer to bring the air by which the grain air passing through the tilingKrises.

55 screens to work perfectly at all times.

' as clearly shown.

[0 chamber F is a coil of steam-pipe, J, or other heater, for warming the air; but I prefer not to rely wholly upon the sponge filter or upon the heater to deprive the air of its moisture, and therefore supplement them with air-passages intermediate of the heating and drying chambers, and lined with porous tile or brick.

A cheap and good method of constructing these passages is shown in the drawings, more especially at Fig. 3, where the passages are formed of tiling K, resting upon a plate, L,

forming the top of the heating chamber. These passages are of small diameter, so that the air will be sure to be affected by contact with the walls thereof, and hence should be employed in considerable number, as shown,

to prevent retardation of the movement of the air. To insure still better results upon the air, I may place above the tiling K semi-cylindrical pieces of tiling M, against which the A second series of the pieces M may also be placed above the first series, so as to alternate therewith and insure the air coming in contact at some point in its passage with the porous absorbent. From the chamber containing the tiling the air passes directly into chamber A through conduits N. It will thus be seen that the air is very perfectly dried before its admission to the drying-chamber, so much so that it will then be hungry for moisture and of'the weight of the grain andv avoid its packing too tight at'the bottom of 1). Another important feature of their construction is found in the material used, which is rolled wirecloth, a section whereof is given in Fig. 4.

'0 It will be seen that this rolled cloth presents a substantially smooth surface, by which the grain will not be caught, and over which it may slide without impediment. This prevents the filling of the meshes and enables the The joint between the widths of cloth forming the screensisillustrated in said Fig. 4, are-enforcing piece of cloth, 0, being placed under the edge of the adjacent widths and riveted thereto, A perfectly plain surface is thus afforded throughout the entire extent of the screens.

In the double apparatus shown the dryingehamber and its screen and the blast-fans are duplicated upon the other side of the partition P, and the lateral branch d of chute is prolonged to the opposite side of the apparatus; and this double drier has certain advantages over the single form, in that the screens upon the two sides mutually sustain one another, while but a single airheater and set of drying-passages'is necessary, and only a single elevator is required. A gate, S, is of course placed at the bottom of each screeninclosed space b, and also at the entrance to the final discharge-chute H, as illustrated. The drier may be placed over a driveway or railway track without interfering with the traffic thereon, and the elevator may then be lengthened, so as, to carry the grain directly from the bin into which the teams or cars discharge to the drier.

The operation of the drier is as follows: The

space 1) between the screens isfilled .with the grain to be dried. The fans are then set in motion and create a strong current of air through the apparatus, and as the air neces sarily comes in contact with the absorbent material, either the tiling or the sponge filter, or both, previous to its reaching the grain, it is by that time quite dry and in good condition to take up the dampness which may be in the grain. It may, and preferably should, be warmed by the coil, at least in the early stages of the drying, because it then warms the grain and causes the latter to give off its moisture more freely. After the grain has become substantially dry the heat may be withdrawn, and the continued blast through the grain of dry cold air will then cool it off and bring it to a desirable condition for storage or shipment. It is then drawn off and a fresh supply is admitted and subjected to the same treatment. As the grain is suspended in a thin sheet, to one side of which the air is admitted and from the other side of which it is drawn, the air necessarily passes through the body thereof and comes into contact with every kernel. The operation of the drier is very rapid, and as the warming need never be carried to a high temperature the grain comes from it uncooked and unseorched and in excellent condition for use.

The apparatus as shown is of course adapt ed to the drying of seeds and small fruits without change of construction; but it can be adapted to the drying of wool, moss, hair, &c., by simply reducing the size of the screens, or making them with removable sections, which will permit the insertion of the material.

I claim 1. The double drier herein shown, consisting of the chambers A, each having the inclined parallel screens, a hopper discharging into and chutes leading from said screens,air-inlets opening into said chambers provided with absorbent material for drying the air, a heater for warming the air, and blast-producing fans, all combined and operating substantially as specified.

- 2. The combination, with the heating and' the drying chamber of a drier, of a series of small air-passages formed of or lined with tile formed of or lined with tile, substantially as and conducting the Warm air from said heatspecified. ing-chamber to said dryingehamber, substantially as specified. JOSEPH BATES 5 3. The combination, with the drying-chain Witnesses:

ber of a grain or other drier, of a series 0fsm a1l H. M. MUNDAY,

passages conducting air to said chamber and EDW. S. EVARTS. 

